Rank to reopen English bingo clubs tomorrow

Gambling operator The Rank Group will open its Mecca bingo club chain tomorrow, the company said in a market update released today.

The group, which also includes Britain’s largest casino chain, Grosvenor, also has Rank Interactive for its online gambling and betting business.

Allowed to open once more under prime minister Boris Johnson’s gradual easing of the lockdown, Rank will use a wide variety of safety measures in its bingo clubs of which 35 are located in England and will restart operations.

Another 12 will remain closed until October while the group assesses their viability and the locations in Wales and Scotland are closed until their respective governments release them to open again.

In a statement, the company said: “Working with our casino trade body, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the group is continuing to engage with government as we seek to secure a date for the reopening of Grosvenor’s casino estate. We will provide a further update when progress can be announced. Our Enracha clubs in Spain started to reopen from 10 June and all are now open. Revenues have been at approximately 60 per cent of pre Covid-19 levels. The digital business continued to trade well, delivering aggregate Q4 revenue growth of 17 per cent on a pro forma basis.”

The underlying operating profit for the year ended June 30 is expected to be between £48m and £58m – probably towards the lower end. The company said that on July 1 there was cash and available facilities of £140m available to it and the company would meet all of its obligatory debts on time.